Series Finale
by Flora and Ashes
Summary: If there's one thing Ash is gonna learn from all this, it's that you should never go near anything that has the potential to have you end up possessed by a psychopathic dictator.
1. Prologue

Series Finale

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Note: A bit of cursing is featured in this story. (Hey, who can blame Ash? He's in a bit of a sticky situation.) As well as attempted murder, I guess.

(So...yeah. This is a very strange fanfiction. The first one I've ever done in first person, and probably the last one. I hope. :D

So sit back and enjoy this bizarre little prologue, complete with a battle that took me a month to write due to having no clue how to write one. ^^;)

**(A/N: This story was called "Freedom" on another forum. So if it looks similar...it probably is. (Unless the username wasn't Flora and Ashes, in which case please let me know.)**

Prologue: Thanks for the Memories…I think.

_Finally. _For once, I actually managed to make it to the finals of a Pokemon League. This match, strangely, was a one-on-one match, unlike the others, which were three-vs-three. It doesn't matter, though. I'm gonna win anyway! My opponent and I walk up to the arena, standing on opposite sides. The battle's about to begin.

"Challengers, state your names," calls the referee from the center of the arena. We both stand silent for a moment, not knowing who should speak first.

With a mischievous glint in his eye, the other boy steps forward. "I'm Taylor Aurum," he calls to the stands, "and I'm gonna be the winner today." The crowd, for some reason, goes wild. A couple of girls blush and giggle. I simply roll my eyes.

Now it's my turn to speak. I take a step forward, and say to the crowd, "I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!" The crowd is a little less enthusiastic, except for Dawn, Brock, my mom (who, thankfully, has not told me to change my underwear yet), and Professor Oak, who are yelling at the top of their lungs. The rest of the crowd stares at them, bewildered.

The referee proceeds to explain the rules once everyone has quieted down. "Since this is a one-on-one battle, the following rules are in effect: the usage of Perish Song will result in a draw if the match continues past the turn limit; Destiny Bond is prohibited and will result in the user forfeiting the match; and Self-Destruct and Explosion will result in loss for the user, as expected." It doesn't matter to me; none of my Pokemon know any of those moves. Taylor, however, is deep in thought. Maybe one of his Pokemon knows one of the moves, and it affects his strategy. Either way, he has to think of a new strategy. The referee waves his flags and shouts, "Let the match begin!"

Taylor gets to send out his Pokemon first. Grinning with cockiness, he tosses a Pokéball into the air and calls out, "Do your best, Waterjaw!"

_Waterjaw? _What kind of Pokémon is _that_? As the red beam changes into a tall, menacing form, its color changes. It's a bright blue, with a yellow stomach and red scales all over its back. It somewhat reminds me of the Totodile I trained before I headed off to Hoenn.

Baffled by the strange Pokémon, I quickly pull out Dexter, my Pokédex. It analyzes the Pokémon for a few seconds. Then, in a mechanical voice, it says, "Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokémon. The evolved form of Croconaw. Feraligatr usually moves slowly, but it goes at blinding speed when it attacks and bites prey."

_What a frightening dex entry,_ I think. But if Feraligatr is a Water-type, then I can do pretty well with Pikachu. And I can tell he wants to battle, since he's glaring at Waterjaw. "Come on, Pikachu!" I yell to the arena. He runs onto the field, excited for the fight. Unfortunately, he's running too fast, and accidentally rams straight into Waterjaw.

Waterjaw is obviously angered by this. "Waterjaw," yells Taylor, "use Bite!" The Feraligatr stomps toward Pikachu.

"Use Agility!" I shout toward Pikachu as Waterjaw gets closer. Normally he could outrun a Pokemon as big and bulky as the Feraligatr, but Pikachu was paralyzed with fear by the size of his opponent. Waterjaw catches up with Pikachu (after a few seconds, of course) and chomps down on his tail.

"Pikaaaaaaaaa!" he squeaks as he darts away from the massive Feraligatr. I can see a few red marks on his tail where Waterjaw's sharp teeth bit him. Taylor simply smirks at the sight of Pikachu's pain.

_That kid…he actually _likes _that Pikachu's in pain? What a horrible trainer! _I think as I try to figure out what move to use to pull the match in my favor. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" I call out to the arena. He begins to generate electricity, as I can see from the sparks coming out from his cheeks.

Suddenly, Pikachu sends a massive bolt of electricity rippling across the arena toward Waterjaw. It makes contact with Waterjaw and causes him to stumble backwards. The crowd is awed by the power of the Thunderbolt, and cheers a little. Taylor, however, is horrified. How_ dare _they cheer for me, and not for him?!?

I have a feeling that guy has serious issues regarding arrogance.

"Waterjaw, let's not waste any time on winning this battle; use Hydro Cannon!"

_Hydro cannon?_ What move is that? I never heard of it, let alone seen it in battle!

Waterjaw simply stands there. I think to myself, _It'll be easy to dodge this attack._ Slowly, however, the Feraligatr's cheeks begin to bulge. Rather than ordering Pikachu to use Agility, I simply stand back and watch.

Waterjaw then opens his mouth and shoots out a typhoon of water. Pikachu attempts to scurry away from the rush of water, but he isn't quick enough and gets pounded by an onslaught of waves. "Hang in there, Pikachu!" I yell as the flood of water slowly drains from the stadium.

After all the water has either drained through a vent or been absorbed into the ground, Pikachu stands up ready to fight some more. "C'mon, Pikachu! Use-"

He's utterly exhausted from the typhoon that ensued from the Hydro Cannon, however, and collapses on the ground. "Pikachu is unable to battle," shouts the referee. "Taylor Aurum is the new Sinnoh League champion!" The crowd bursts into screams of joy, as Taylor attempts to congratulate himself and Waterjaw, who seems to be frozen due to the power he put into the Hydro Cannon.

I rush across the arena, pick up Pikachu, and walk out of the stadium. Outside, Dawn, Professor Oak, and my mom meet up with me. Brock, however, has found himself nearby one of Taylor's fangirls, and I think you can imagine what happened.

"You did great, honey!" says my mom happily. At least she didn't mention the underwear thing.

Dawn adds, "If you were to perform that Thunderbolt in a contest, it sure would have given you a good deal of points!"

"Thanks," I tell them both. I'm pretty satisfied with my performance as well.

Professor Oak's statement, however, has nothing to do with the battle. He tells me, "Ash, I've heard from Scott that there's going to be a competition at the Battle Pyramid, and that he wants you to come."

"Of course!" I quickly respond. I'd never pass up an opportunity to compete in a tournament.

"I wish I could come to watch you," commented Dawn, "but I promised my mom I'd stop and see her after the Pokemon League was over."

Brock, who had been dragged back to us by his Croagunk, adds, "And I have to check up on the Gym back in Pewter City." They both look pretty sad about having to miss my competition. (Although in Brock's case, it might be because he'll be missing a chance to meet with pretty girls.)

Mom and Professor Oak, however, promise that they'll be at the Battle Pyramid in three days' time, when the competition starts.

_I can't wait! _I think to myself. _I think I'll leave tomorrow, to make sure I'm there in time._

_~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-_

It's now the day I leave for the Battle Frontier! I'm already on the ship, on the way. Only a few minutes left…

"Attention, passengers; we have reached the Battle Frontier. Please collect your personal belongings and exit the ship in an orderly fashion. Thank you for sailing with us on the SS Lapras, and have a fun time at the Battle Frontier!" called the captain over the ship's intercom. And, of course, the exit from the ship is anything _but_ orderly. I swear I just saw the captain fall overboard.

According to this map, I have to head halfway across the island to get to the Battle Pyramid. Okay. That won't take too long, I hope.

I remember the first time I was here…well, some of it, anyway, seeing as I was brain-dead for a few minutes. I really don't want to remember it, though. It was…shocking, literally _and_ figuratively.

_"A Ho-oh?" I asked after hearing the myth. A Ho-oh, apparently caught in an ancient Pokéball? Impossible. I've already seen Ho-oh. However, I decided to check it out anyway and see if it was true. I ran through the corridor in the ruins, trying to find a secret room._

There's the Battle Pike. I'll be there in half an hour.

_"Ah-hah!" I said after I'd found a strange room. Inside, there seemed to be a throne-perhaps for the king who once ruled the empire of Pokélantis?_

And there's the Battle Factory. Only ten more minutes…

_"Hm?" Upon stepping into the room a ton of torches lit automatically. I progressed further into the room, noticing the large statue in the back. Was that the king?_

And there's the Battle Arena. Only a few minutes left…

_"Is this it?" I asked as I examined the stone Pokéball that had been placed on the throne. I picked it up, trying to see if I could open it. _

_"Don't do anything with that Pokéball!" yelled Brandon, the Pyramid King, as he, Brock, my companion May, and her brother Max rushed into the room. There wasn't anything he could do about it, though-I'd already held it over my head._

_"Light, come forth from the darkness…" a strange voice said. Suddenly, the Pokéball twitched in my hand. I looked up and saw a purple spirit hovering in the air._

There it is! I just have a minute left. The scenery's beautiful-there's a forest right there. It seems to be populated by ghost Pokemon-I think there's a Gastly right in front of me. I'd better start planning out my strategy now!

_And after that…nothing…_

(Well. Now that that's done...Time to finish Chapter One!)


	2. Don't Steal Things Without Knowing It

(She lives. XP)

**Chapter One: It's Never Good to Steal Things Without Knowing It**

(Featuring evidence that Ash can defy the laws of physics. Yay. ^^)

_Huh? Am I in the Battle Pyramid? I don't remember walking in… _I quickly looked around the small room I was in.

_Well…this obviously isn't the Battle Pyramid…_There was a chair, a desk, a laptop, and a television. On the desk was a stone paperweight shaped like a Pokéball. It looked familiar, but I didn't pay attention to that at the moment. I found the television remote and pressed the power button.

"We interrupt your normally scheduled program to bring you a special announcement!" shouted an Officer Jenny. _Probably another criminal on the loose,_ I thought.

She continued, "Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is wanted by the police for stealing three valuable Pokémon from Brandon of the Battle Frontier!"

WHAT?!? She had to be wrong. There was no way, no way at all, that I could have stolen Brandon's Pokémon.

I checked my belt, just to make sure. _One, two, three, four, five, six. And that half-of-a-Pokéball. No way at all._I quickly used the nice video phone happily situated in the room to call him.

Then again, perhaps they went to Professor Oak's Lab…

Unsurprisingly, Oak had a lot to deal with; a Muk, thirty Tauros, and a bunch of other Pokemon. Normally, Bulbasaur would be helping him deal with it, but something seemed to be upsetting all the Pokemon worse than they were, and apparently Bulbasaur had just given up.

I quickly found my answer: A massive Pokemon made up of what must have been a hundred boulders dashed across the lab, making the phone thump. Regirock.

I'm so screwed.

_Why do I have Brandon's Pokémon?_ I hung up and pondered the idea for several minutes. I came up with two hypotheses.

_Maybe Brandon felt really evil, knocked me out, put his Pokémon in the lab, and told the police that I stole his Pokémon?_ But that made no sense; Brandon had no reason to do that.

_Or maybe somebody else stole them and framed me_? That made more sense; it would certainly attract the attention of the police. After all, I am pretty well-known.

Then, I remembered something; it had occurred after I had first tried to beat Brandon- okay, it was _kind of _me trying to beat him, but I had a _bit_ of unwanted help… (and when I say unwanted, I really mean it.)

_After the battle, May, Max, Brock, and I were going to find somewhere to train; May needed to train for her next contest, and I had to train for my rematch. It was getting late, so we stopped to rest for a bit. I was pretty tired, so Pikachu and I were about to fall asleep._ you _didn't, but the King of Pokélantis...made them float off," stated Brock matter-of-factly._

"Um, Ash," May asked, a bit of hesitation in her voice, "Can Brock and I have our Pokemon back?"

I laughed. "May, why would I have your Pokemon? It's not like I stole them!"

Brock started to speak. It kinda sounded like he was trying to tell me someone died, but really didn't want to. "Well, technically..."

"You did," May finished for him.

I was bewildered. "Huh? How could I have stolen them? I don't remember doing anything like that..."

"Well, technically,

It turned out that not only was that king a psychopath, he was somehow able to preserve his spirit for thousands of years and have the bizarre power to make things levitate wherever he wants them to.

And he has a very scary evil laugh, according to May and Max.

I considered the idea and began to panic. _No. This can't be happening again. I seriously_ can't _be possessed by a psychopath king from thousands of years ago who wants to take over the world_ again. _I will seriously kill someone if I am._

At that moment, I remembered that paperweight. I rushed over to the desk and picked it up.

"_DAMN!_ Why does all the evil, paranormal stuff happen to _ME?!?_" I yelled to the ceiling.

_Well, on the bright side, at least I somehow managed to have enough control over the situation so far to keep from going on a maniacal rampage or an attempt to take over the world,_ I think. _I don't know how I did that…but it's a start._

Suddenly, an idea hit me; maybe if I got a Thundershock from Pikachu, it might force that psychopath out of my system! After all, it did do so when this all happened before. "Hey, Pikachu?" I called.

He was curled up in a corner, attempting to sleep. However, when he heard me, he perked his ears and sat up. "Pika?" he asked.

"Would you mind using Thundershock on me?"

Pikachu pondered it for a bit- understandably, because I was possessed by a psychopathic evil dictator- and then shook his head.

_Great. Pikachu's not gonna shock it out. Damn! So, I'm basically screwed..._ I think as I paced around the room. _What can I do? I mean, there's no way I can actually notify everyone of what_ actually _happened-_

_Wait! I can! I could always go to that fansite..._ Unsurprisingly, I have a strange amount of fansites. It's both flattering and bewildering. There is one fansite in particular that I usually visit; it's owned by another Pallet Town resident, and it's actually pulled off quite well. (She specifically stated that her parents check over the HTML, so it's not like she's insanely good at HTML or anything.)

Then again…it's not all that likely that they'll believe me; after all, the one other time this happened, it was deemed "unsuitable for younger viewers' eyes" (which makes no sense; I think they just wanted Pokemon training to seem like nothing bad ever happens. Yeah. Right.) , so anybody who didn't live in Orre (whose prominent trainers stated that they've seen enough scary things to toughen the kids up) won't have a clue.

_I'll just take my chances_, I think as I load up the website on the conveniently-placed computer. After scanning the front page quickly, I notice something interesting:

**Okay, you can stop flaming me now. I understand that Ash is wanted by the police. However, that doesn't give you **_**any**_** right to say, "How **_**dare**_** you like Ash? You should burn in Groudon's pit!" For Mew's sake, don't you have **_**any**_** recognition of anybody else's opinion? Unless Ash comes on here and **_**specifically**_** says that he stole Brandon's Pokemon for no reason whatsoever, I'm **_**not**_** going to change my opinion.**_**might**_** be a reason under that. (Well, that's what Koyio says, and she has an odd knack for knowing this stuff.)**

You know, there

Being the curious thirteen-year-old that pretty much all of the Pokemon world has come to know, I wanted to know what she meant when she said the other fans were flaming her. They couldn't _seriously_ be yelling at her for being a fan. So I went to the guestbook.

And, of course, it turned out they were.

People get mad at others for the _strangest_ reasons nowadays.

The entire page is filled with rants about how anybody who is a fan of "that thieving, dirty liar" should die a very painful, slow death, comments on how unlikely it seems that I'd ever steal anything, and confused people just talking about the site itself. To say the least, it's chaos.

I think the only way we're ever gonna get anywhere is if I say something. So, of course, I do.

**Okay, I know you're all very perplexed over the situation,** I type quickly as I go over what to say in my head, **but you really shouldn't go yelling at the fans for something I did, you know.**

Yeah, I kinda blame myself for what's going on here. I mean, Brandon even told me that if I wasn't so arrogant, the whole fiasco beforehand wouldn't even have happened.

I know what's gonna happen; the haters are gonna go, "See? I told you so," the fans are going to say, "He's obviously covering up for somebody else," and the confused people…well, they're just gonna get more confused. Great.

There's nothing left to do. I think I'll just lie down and think for a bit.

(_Now_ it's not "yay Sato-kun," as somebody put it on another forum.)

(…Holy crud that chapter was loooooong.

So, after that awfully long hiatus…what do think of this chapter?)


	3. More Sanity is Lost

**Chapter Two: More Sanity is Lost**

_(__Hey, you're getting TWO awesome things today! You get this chapter after forever, AND we get to meet the_ other _protagonists! YAY!)_

I'm done thinking. And you know what solution I've come to?

I seriously need to either turn myself in or figure out some way to tell what happened without everyone calling me "a thieving, dirty liar."

Besides that, I really should check to see what chaos my comment in that guest book made. I load up the webpage once more (somewhat faster this time), and scroll down the page. Sure enough, it's a disaster; everybody's yelling, "I TOLD YOU SO!" (Well, except the confused people, of course. They're just getting even more confused.) As I skim through the posts, I notice that the webmaster's made another comment:

**Okay, you know what? All this arguing is **_**really**_** getting annoying. I think the only way to resolve it is to go find him and discover what **_**really**_** happened. So I'm gonna go look for him, and once I find him and he informs me of what actually happened, I'll let you guys know. Until then, I'm taking my laptop with me, so you guys will know where he **_**isn't.**_** So…hopefully it won't last too long! (As a side note, I'm taking Kazune (one of my friends!) and Koyio with me, so it should be rather…interesting.)**

Honestly, I have no idea whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, there's actually a possibility that this stupid madness will end. But on the other hand, if she challenges me to a battle, we're all pretty much screwed. Oh, damn this whole thing!

Once more, I call the Professor on the video phone. As I wait for him to pick it up, I reminisce a little about some of the stuff I only remember a little:

_At this point, I was still mostly out of it, and although I couldn't see what was going on, I heard some of the conversation that occurred as Brandon, the King, Brock, May, and Max walked into the Battle Pyramid. Apparently Scott was there, because-_

"Hello?" a voice calls from the video phone. I look up startled, but it's just Professor Oak, sitting down, not even looking at the screen.

I respond, "Er, hi, Professor," since I have absolutely no idea what to say. Obviously, Professor Oak was _not_ expecting a call from me, because he was so startled, he completely fell off his chair!

"Ash!" he says, once he's back on his chair. "I wasn't expecting you to call me."

I reply, "…yeah, I could gather that from the fact that you fell off your-" I am then interrupted by three kids, two girls and a guy, who burst through the door.

The first girl, who looks about thirteen, asks, "Holy Mew! Are you okay, Professor?" Since the webmaster, Karin, is the only person that I know of who has _ever_ used the expression "Holy Mew," it's obviously Karin. She has somewhat dark red hair and blue-gray eyes, and is currently wearing a green shirt and a pink mini-skirt, along with green socks and sneakers. Thank Arceus she hasn't noticed the video phone, or it would end up being quite awkward.

"I'm fine," the Professor replies. "I just feel off my chair. No need to be worried."

The boy, who looks about Karin's age, replies, seeming slightly amused, "I think that when you can hear someone falling off their chair from _outside the building_, it _does_ seem like something to be worried about." _If Karin's here,_ I think, _then that must be…Kazune. I think that was his name._ Whoever he was, he had dark blue hair and black eyes, and was currently wearing a black shirt and gray jeans. I notice Karin blushing as he speaks; I guess she has a crush on him or something.

"Way to put that, Kazune!" the last girl, who's got the looks of an eight-year-old, shouts excitedly in a very high-pitched voice. Well, Karin said that she was bringing her sister, Koyio, along, so I guess that's her. The hyperactive little girl has brownish-blonde hair and violet eyes, and wears a light purple dress with a lighter purple ruffle on the bottom, along with a purple hat. "Well, Rin, now that we made sure Mr. Professor is alright, let's go!" she shouted, charging out the door. Kazune followed her.

Karin simply muttered, "'Rin.' Where in Kanto does she _get_ these nicknames?" before dashing after the two.

As the Professor comes back to the phone to talk to me again, I try to suppress a laugh.

"Ash," he asks, "is there a particular reason you called me?"

I reply, "Actually, I called because Karin and company are going on a massive search for me, and I'm not sure what in Arceus's name I should say if she challenges me to battle. If I accept, the King of Pokélantis will take over, and the battle will end in chaos, and if I say no, she'll think I'm hiding something." _Well, I am,_ I say to myself.

He thinks for a moment, and then answers, "If she asks, tell her that you are unable to accept. Then explain the circumstances."

"Oh, okay. Thanks," I tell him, and then hang up.

_Well, hopefully, it won't take her long to realize that the best place for me to hide is the place nobody would expect._

(Hurrah! It's done (in a rather short-ish fashion)! Now comes the easy part. ^^)


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